Lawsuit alleges NDSP violated Indiana’s Access to Public
By ANN MARIE JAKUBOWSKI e ditor-in- c hief
espn filed a lawsuit against notre dame earlier this month claiming the university’s refusal to release campus police records violates i ndiana’s public records law, according to a report wednesday in the south bend Tribune.
The case, filed Jan. 15 in st. Joseph superior court, alleges that notre dame officials violated i ndiana’s access to p ublic records act when they refused to release notre dame security police ( ndsp) records requested by espn reporter paula l avigne, the Tribune reported.
i n september and november 2014, l avigne formally requested police incident reports and logs related to notre
Act
dame student athletes but was turned down both times, according to the Tribune. she filed complaints with i ndiana
p ublic access counselor luke britt in october and december, according to documents available on the p ublic a ccess
c ounselor website. b ritt is an attorney appointed see espn PaGE 5
Major’s Night features Career Center
By ANNETTE SAYRE news writer
everyone throws the term around, but what does it actually mean to "major in" something? major's night will be held Thursday to help students get a better understanding of their options in college and beyond.
“a typical misconception that underclassmen have when they come to college is
that a major will define their career for the rest of their life — and that is not the case,”
l ara dulin, the project leader of major’s night said
she said she hopes students will come to the event Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. in south dining hall with a desire to be inspired.
“we want students to be creative, to follow their curiosities and to explore all different kinds of things,” d ulin said.
i n preparation for this event, student government created the motto “learn, discuss, envision” to encourage students not only to learn about the academic opportunities offered at notre dame, but also to discuss their passions with professors and students and seek guidance from career counselors.
“This year we wanted to make major’s night a little different,” d ulin said. "The
new exhibits open at
By KATE KULWICKI news writer
wednesday evening, the saint mary's moreau a rt galleries welcomed two new spring exhibits, “Touristic i ntents” by mat rappaport and “homeland: c hicago & belgrade diasporas,” a collaborative project by melissa potter and mat rappaport. The exhibits will run from wednesday through march 6.
“Touristic i ntents” was created using photographs, single
channel video, silk screened cardboard boxes, rubber, surveyor’s poles and audio. The exhibit explores a three mile-long building that was constructed in the 1930s to be a nazi resort that was unfinished in p rora, g ermany. rappaport said he started his research for this project in 2008. rappaport said the purpose of the site was to house 20,000 vacationing working class g ermans after the destruction
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career center is going to play a larger role.”
career counselors will be present at the event to sit and chat with students about how a major can transition into a career and what a major really means for their future.
m ichelle l acouture, student government's director of academic affairs, said major's night is the showcase of all of
see maJors PaGE 5
Observer Staff Report
The observer general board elected associate sports editor greg hadley to the position of editor-in-chief for 2015-2016 on wednesday.
hadley, a junior resident of carroll hall, is a double ma-
jor in political science and american studies with a minor in Journalism, ethics and democracy. The rockville, maryland, native has served as both baraka bouts and bengal bouts editor in 2013-2014 and covered the notre dame women's basketball team and men's lacrosse team during their Final Four runs last season.
"This position is both an honor and an opportunity, and i am very grateful to have it," hadley said. "The editorial board this year has done tremendous work, and i'm really looking forward to
see ediTor PaGE 4
saint mary’s gallery
SUSAN ZHU | The Observer
MONICA VILLAGOMEZ MENDEZ| The Observer
Artists Melissa Potter, left, and Mat Rappaport presented two new exhibits to the Saint Mary’s community in the Moreau Galleries, titled ‘Touristic Intents’ and ‘Homeland: Chicago & Belgrade Diasporas.’
Scene Desk (574) 631-4540 scene@ndsmcobserver.com Saint Mary’s Desk kkonya01@saintmarys.edu
Photo Desk (574) 631-8767 photo@ndsmcobserver.com
Systems & Web Administrators (574) 631-8839
Policies
Question of the Day:
Carolyn Etienne sophomore holy cross hall
“spending c hristmas with my fellow belles.”
Katie Slisz sophomore holy cross hall
“g etting to see papa Francesco in rome with my fellow belles.”
Nicole Splix sophomore holy cross hall
“i went to colorado for the first time and explored the mountains.”
Have
Margaret Mary Underwood year holy cross hall
“walking through the streets of a ssisi, italy with four close friends.”
Olivia Ely sophomore holy cross hall
“g etting lost on a road trip with my friend on the way to a pumpkin patch.”
Casey Moorhead sophomore holy cross hall
“i took a scuba class.”
As the South Bend winter rages on, the Vermin of Carroll Hall have a beautiful view of the Golden Dome framed by barren trees to comfort them as they make the long journey to campus.
Today’s Staff
Corrections
The observer regards itself as a professional publication and strives for the highest standards of journalism at all times. we do, however, recognize that we will make mistakes. i f we have made a mistake, please contact us at (574) 631-4541 so we can correct our error.
“Ronald
Author reads from book on apocalypses
By MEGAN VALLEY news writer
The c reative w riting p rogram hosted a reading by l ucy c orin wednesday night in h ammes n otre d ame bookstore. a fter a brief introduction from s teve Tomasula, professor of e nglish, c orin read excerpts from her latest book "o ne h undred a pocalypses and o ther a pocalypses," a collection of short pieces centering around an apocalypse.
“The idea came from a personal challenge," c orin said. " i ’d take any idea or bit of writing i had and turn it into an apocalypse. i had put together a book, but i didn’t know how to make it a good book.”
The book consists of 100 apocalypses: there are three longer stories followed by a set of flash fictions, or short short-stories sometimes lasting just a few lines long, c orin said. a t the event, the author read more than a dozen of her flash fictions.
w hile all of c orin's pieces are centered around an apocalypse, the crisis itself is not always styled in the typical manner, she said. The
topics, instead, are widely varied: a new mother on maternity leave kills her child because it’s too much work; an unknown narrator describes how to tell if a girl has lost her virginity; a daughter comes home to see that her father has been cut in half by a garage door. a ccording to c orin, some are more experimental in style than others.
Following her reading of one of her flash fiction pieces, titled " h angings," she
“I’d take any idea or bit of writing I had and turn it into an apocalypse. I had put together a book, but I didn’t know how to make it a good book.”
Lucy Corin author
“One Hundred Apocalypses and Other Apocalypses”
said the story is "supposed to get all messed up with your perceptions." a fter the reading, c orin
answered questions from the audience. m any of the questions were centered around the dark themes in her book, as well as in her other books, including " e veryday p sycho k illers -- a h istory For g irls."
s he explained that as a child, her sister had always been far more interested in the macabre than she had been.
“ i just fell into the tunnel. i had a relationship [with dark material], but it was a wary one," c orin said.
i n the 1990s, c orin said she noticed the cyclic relationship people had with terrible events, such as brutal killings and kidnappings, especially during many prevalent cases that were shown on television at the time.
“ you’d watch yourself move from pleasure to self-aware pleasure to disgust at yourself for enjoying it," she said.
“ i used to kind of sneer at people who didn’t want to see that sort of thing in movies. i
was like, ‘c ome on, it’s about murder, we love that!’ b ut i get it now.” c orin said is currently working on a novel, "The s wank h otel."
“ i have my psychopath book, i have my apocalypse book, but i ’m trying to remove myself from that sort of thinking when i ’m not working on it," she said.
Contact Megan Valley at mvalley@nd.edu
Students prepare for March for Life
By SELENA PONIO news writer
The notre dame r ight to l ife club, as well as other members of the notre dame, s aint mary's and holy c ross community, will be participating in the march for l ife this year in washington d c . on Thursday. This year, a record total of
692 students from notre dame, s aint mary's and holy c ross will be participating in the annual march.
“ we hope that this record only lasts one year though, as we are always looking to bring more people with us,” k ristina Flathers, senior and vice president of communications for the nd r ight to l ife club, said.
o n its website, the nd r ight to l ife club states that its mission involves promoting the sanctity of all life from conception until natural death in the spirit of the c atholic c hurch.
“i want to emphasize the part that says 'all human life,' because though many think that we care only about abortion, our pro-life beliefs and
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events actually cover much more than that,” Flathers said.
Flathers said service is central to the club’s mission, and commissioners for the club have organized a variety of service events. The club helped provide resources for adoption, organized karaoke events for special needs children and hosted dances at elderly centers.
“ w itnessing ... the ability of thousands of marchers, including 692 notre dame students, to operate as one cohesive body for the preservation of human dignity of life ... is why i am most excited for this march,” first year Tierney vrdolyak said.
Flathers, who has attended every march for l ife since her first year, said she is especially excited for this year due to the huge interest and participation displayed by the community.
“my favorite memories revolve around the friends that i make on that trip, some of whom are my best friends here,” Flathers said. “There is a very special community that forms around attending the march.”
according to Flathers, one of the most touching facts about the march is that people travel nearly ten hours both ways by bus and sleep on the floors of churches for the singular cause that brings them together.
“i think attending the march is important because it awakens people's interest and passion for life issues and reminds them that they are not alone in caring,” Flathers said. “o ver 600,000 people showing up for a demonstration has a way of doing just that.”
Contact Selena Ponio at sponio@nd.edu
EMILY McCONVILLE| The Observer
The Creative Writing Program hosted author Lucy Corin on Wednesday evening in the Hammes Notre Dame bookstore to read from her latest book, ‘One Hundred Apocalypses and Other Apocalpyses.’
of the trade unions.
“w hat struck me was that this building was designed by the nazis started being built in 1936, and the architect of this building’s main objectives was to create a resort for the working class, for the german workers, where everyone had a sea side view,” rappaport said.
The exhibit consists of 135 images, with each image showing the views from windows that were taken within one block of one building section.
according to a description of "Touristic intents" as provided by a brochure at the event, each image "depicts only the space of a window’s opening, its ‘view’ floating on a white background." in order to "reinforce the initial promise of an ocean view for all, the obscured view is mirrored on the page with a reconstruction of an ocean view pushing through the same shape."
The site was sold and intended to be converted into condominiums, rental apartments and hotels by private developers in the 1990s after it was used as secret military site during the german democratic republic. during that time, it was used as a german military training school, barracks and officers’ resort.
rappaport said the building he explored is one of the five that the nazis had planned to build as a part of their “strength through joy” program.
”i was fascinated by this idea that this fascistic government wants to do something that seems, at least in my mind, very, very progressive by giving access to leisure time, which at that time [leisure time] was a construct that only upper class people got to experience,” rappaport said.
also on display was potter and rappaport's “homeland: chicago and belgrade diaspora," which
Editor
building off all that they've accomplished."
hadley has also covered notre dame women's golf, men's tennis, women's soccer, cross country and track and field, and spent the past year helping to coordinate all of The observer's sports coverage.
"greg has become an absolutely indispensable member of the staff this year, and i know he will do a fantastic job leading The observer in the coming year," outgoing editor-in-chief ann marie Jakubowski said. "i can't wait to see what he accomplishes with his great talent, passion and work ethic."
"we have a great group of people on staff, and i am confident that we will continue to be an outstanding news source for the rest of campus," hadley said. "i will continue to look for ways to improve and learn as much as i can."
hadley will take on his new position march 1.
uses interviews with multi-generational artists and curators to explore the serbian experience of moving to the united states and establishing a post-yugoslavian society.
some of the images presented in the exhibit are taken from chicago, which is known as the serbian center of the united states, having a population of roughly 400,000 serbian people. The exhibit displays quotes from the interviews on images of a chicago serbian neighborhood and of belgrade.
“doing the interviews has been so amazing because there is no way that, even a student of international news and international history, that you could get these kind of personal stories without sitting down with people,” rappaport said. “as an artist, i think we get to have permission to ask people personal questions and intimate questions, and for whatever reason, they open up to us really nicely.
"it has been a real privilege and
an incredible answer to my own curiosity about certain issues."
potter spoke for both herself and rappaport when she said this work has affected the way that they both see certain parts of
the world.
“sometimes you make work and then you leave it behind, but this work has made me think a lot. i really learned from these interviewees, and this project has
changed a lot of my opinions and attitudes about social situations,” potter said.
Contact Kate Kulwicki at kkulwi01@saintmarys.edu
MONICA VILLAGOMEZ MENDEZ| The Observer
Retired professor of English Ted Billy visits the spring exhibitions in the Moreau Galleries, which opened Jan. 21 and will last through March 6. The artwork explores diaspora, immigration and architecture.
Majors
the different majors and academic opportunities for students under one roof.
“This year, we wanted to make the experience one of personal growth and reflection for students by bringing the c areer c enter to the event. we’ve worked really closely with the c areer c enter’s e ngagement Team on how best to address and facilitate this
discovery and self-reflection process for students through the c enter’s expertise and guidance," l acouture said.
The c areer c enter's e ngagement Team will also offer sign ups for personal meetings to be held at a later date.
p rofessors, faculty and current students representing the array of majors and academic programs offered at notre d ame will also be present at the event. m ajor’s night will not only offer academic
resources from every major, minor and study abroad program, but also from several research institutes like the nanovic and k ellogg i nstitutes, as well as from the c enter for s ocial c oncerns and the c enter for undergraduate s cholarly e ngagement.
a dditionally, this year student government has created a brochure for the event with ideas on how best to take advantage of the resources available to them on m ajor’s night. The pamphlet includes ideas
of what students should be doing during m ajor’s night with a list of possible questions to be asked of professors, as well as where to go after the event for further investigation.
l ara d ulin said the event is also extended to students who may already have selected their major or majors, but who can investigate minors or supplementary programs to better explore their passions.
“m ajor’s night is primarily for freshmen and undecided sophomores, but people are
constantly shaping their academic goals, so sophomores can come to learn about study abroad or pick up a minor, and even juniors can come and talk to the research institutes," d ulin said. "it's for everyone." “ we hope students come in with a clear mind and an open heart and allow themselves to examine what it is they want to get out of their education at notre d ame," l acouture said.
Contact Annette Sayre at asayre@nd.edu
by the governor to advise on public access matters.
“a s we have previously said, our practices are in full accord with the a ccess to p ublic r ecords a ct and consistent with multiple advisory opinions that have addressed this matter over the past 12 years,” university spokesman d ennis b rown said in an email wednesday afternoon. “ we are confident that our position will be affirmed in court.”
espn submitted two written opinions by b ritt as evidence in the lawsuit, the Tribune reported. b ritt’s recent written opinions departed from that of previous public access counselors, who had written that professional police departments at i ndiana private universities did not meet the definition of public
agencies and so were exempt from the state’s public records law. b ritt’s opinion is not compulsory and does not carry the force of law, but the superior court decision will.
b ritt’s o ct. 31 opinion put n otre d ame on notice that his office considers ndsp a public law enforcement agency after espn and the s outh b end Tribune filed complaints against the department.
“The n otre d ame law enforcement agency is clearly operating under the color of the law, enforcing i ndiana criminal code and not mere campus policy or disciplinary procedures,” he wrote.
“They also have the authority to police the surrounding community. They even have a 911 dispatch.
“ i f a law enforcement agency has police powers, then they should be subject to the typical scrutiny given to traditional police forces.”
b ritt’s opinion was based on the premise that police powers come from the state and “do not spring forth organically.”
“This may be inconsistent with previous p ublic a ccess c ounselors’ opinions but i do not believe it is inconsistent with the spirit of the a ccess to p ublic r ecords a ct,” he wrote. “… The ultimate test is from where their power is derived. The police forced is established by the governing body of a private institution, but their powers are not inherent nor are they derived from n otre d ame u niversity.
“ i am not comfortable saying an organization can hide behind the cloak of secrecy
when they have the power to arrest and create criminal records and exercise the s tate’s police powers.”
i n his o ctober opinion, b ritt said ndsp had been operating under prior public access counselors’ opinions and therefore couldn’t be held instantly accountable for its response to l avigne’s original request. h owever, in his Jan. 5 opinion responding to l avigne’s later complaint, he wrote that now that the u niversity was on notice that they were considered a public law agency, his “expectation is that they release records accordingly and comply fully with the a ccess to p ublic r ecords a ct.”
“The reversal of course was not taken lightly or without regard to the impact on private university police forces,” b ritt wrote. “ i t is the o pinion of the p ublic a ccess c ounselor that if the n otre d ame s ecurity p olice d epartment has documentation regarding any suspected crimes, accidents or complaints involving the individuals named in your request and has not released that particular documetation, then they hae violated the a ccess to p ublic r ecords a ct.”
a ccording to the Tribune, espn is asking the court to order n otre d ame to release the requested records for inspection and copying and to order ndsp to pay a civil penalty and court fees. n o hearing date has been set yet.
Contact Ann Marie Jakubowski at ajakubo1@nd.edu
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paid a dverT isemen T
InsIdE ColuMn
babysitter worries
over the last weekend of winter break, my parents went to Florida for a muchneeded vacation, leaving me, my brother and my seven-year-old sister, brigid, home alone for five days. it had occurred to all of us that i am now technically an adult, so it fell to me to take care of brigid from that Friday to that Tuesday. leading up to my parents’ flight out, i was worried. To be fair, watching my second-grade sister for five days isn’t that daunting. she had something planned for every day, whether school, a basketball game or a playdate. i had access to a car, so i could take her to a museum or bookstore to kill a few hours. she went to bed early, so i would have the evenings to myself. my parents also stocked up on food before they left and were available by phone at any point. They also left me a debit card, and i was fairly well-compensated.
still, i can be pretty spacy when it comes to household things. For that reason, i was terrified. w hat if i forgot to feed brigid healthy things and she ate goldfish and noodles all weekend? w hat if i didn’t wake up with her and she hurt herself somewhere in the house? w hat if i forgot to pick her up from her friend’s house? w hat if we ran out of things to do and she got so bored she’d hate me forever? i had never been fully responsible for another person before, and i feared messing it all up.
it was surprising when the weekend went perfectly fine. i woke my sister up when it was time to get up. i let her watch T v i gave her breakfast. i asked her to eat strawberries, and she did so willingly. i picked her up from school. we ate. we slept. we played. we kept the house clean. w hen my parents got back she admitted that the weekend had been pretty fun.
The takeaway: i think i’d like to be a mother in a few years (or 10), and i think i understand what that means. of course, babysitting my sister wasn’t motherhood in microcosm. i watched a relatively quiet and independent seven-year-old for five days. i wasn’t responsible for a colicky infant or a toddler dead-set on exploring electrical outlets. i didn’t feel the bittersweetness of the first day of kindergarten or the fear accompanying a missed call or the anger over a teenager’s first heartbreak. i’m definitely not prepared for that. but while being responsible for another tiny human being was stressful, the anxiety over somebody else somehow lessened my anxieties about myself. a fter a semester of worrying about me, my grades and my future, focusing on brigid made me feel content, capable and even productive. now, i actually look forward to having my own family.
Contact Emily McConville at emcconvl@nd.edu
The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
The same ol’ State of the Union
Tuesday night, i received a number of messages from longtime friends asking why i wasn’t filling up their Facebook and Twitter feeds with commentary on p resident o bama’s s tate of the union a ddress as i had so done perennially. The reason why is because i had already read an advanced transcript of his prepared remarks and wasn’t really all that excited once the speech came. The only enjoyment i took away from the speech was when i could quiz myself on the names and home states of the different politicos in the chamber –at which point i realized i have an unhealthy addiction to politics, especially for not being a political science major, but i ’ll ignore that for now.
i n reading the speech, i felt like the same points were brought up as were every year prior. p resident o bama patted himself on the back for things that cannot be attributed to his doing, such as gas prices. h e glorified his ideas as bold, sensible and proven. it was as if he was taking a victory lap from his 2012 reelection, forgetting the fact that he couldn’t energize his own supporters to get out to the ballot box in 2014, which led his party to experience unprecedented congressional losses, handing the r epublican p arty its first s enate majority since 2007 and its largest majority in the h ouse since 1947. Truly an absurd time to inflate one’s own political image.
That said, the president is still a savvy communicator, and coupled with his speechwriting staff, that talent was on full display Tuesday. The buzzphrase of the night was “middle-class economics,” which showed the president is still not above dividing the nation and attempting to discredit his detractors. s urely, with titles of ideas like “middle-class economics” and “a ffordable c are a ct,” anyone who opposes them appears to be against the middle-class and affordable health care. The posturing never seems to end with this administration.
m ost displeasing, though, was the president’s
evidently continued unwillingness to reach across the aisle to work for the a merican people. w hile never addressing them directly, he made multiple sideswipes toward the r epublican c ongress and issued two veto threats. w hen pitching his ideas, the president is unrelenting in how non-partisan and non-political he believes them to be, full knowing that most r epublicans and even some d emocrats, would oppose them. p resident o bama had the chance to get up on the s peaker’s rostrum and unite a country that is still deeply politically divided by showing he was genuinely interested in working with all members of c ongress, the elected representatives of the people, but instead he decided to work exclusively with his weakened party and ignore those chosen to represent the majority of the country. h e came into office promising “hope” and “change,” but we are only getting the same partisanship that has always been present. l eading his d emocratic c ongress, he held the heads of r epublicans under water for his first two years in office, refusing to compromise or even listen. n ow, even after the nation decisively rejected his party, he would still refuse to compromise. h e had a chance to solidify his legacy as a president that actually unified a nation politically divided, but instead chose to drive a wedge into that divide, only making it grow.
d on’t get me wrong, i do think that the current state of this union is strong; rather, it has room to improve as it always will. it is doing well not because of p resident o bama’s policies, but because the a merican people are intelligent, innovative, moral and resilient. we will continue to improve, however accelerated or decelerated by the executive, because a mericans want to do right by their family, their neighbors and their religious or ethical convictions. The credit of endurance and progress does not belong with the president, but with the people.
Kyle Palmer is an Alumni Hall junior majoring in Accountancy. He welcomes reasonable debate on all his opinions, and can be reached at kpalmer6@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Kyle Palmer reasonably r ight
Emily McConville photographer
EdItorIal Cartoon
Scott Boyle
sincere s eeker
Let’s learn from Stephen Colbert
i think we spend too much time wishing we could time travel. That probably sounds like an odd statement, but hear me out.
i can spend a lot of time analyzing the past. “g osh, i wish i would have done...” or “d ang, it would have been so much better if…” or “ i feel really bad that…” a fter a certain period of time, i become so wrapped up in the anger, frustration and hurt that i felt in the past that i time travel. b efore i know it, the memories of the past have taken over and made the past more real than my present.
This is, beyond a doubt, the reality of countless numbers of people who, in varying degrees and in many different stages of life, deal with these types of questions from the moment they wake up until the moment they go to bed.
s o, if there is one thing that i have learned in my brief foray into ministry, it’s that we all have a relationship with our past. s ometimes we are able to deal with that relationship successfully. o ther times, we need a little bit more help.
i think of all of this in light of a biography i just finished about the life of s tephen c olbert. c olbert has been in the news recently as he has closed-up shop on his c omedy c entral show to move to cbs he will be taking the late-night spot soon to be vacated by d avid l etterman.
i have followed c olbert’s career with great interest, and when a friend of mine brought home a book about his life, i wasted no time devouring its pages.
i can’t say i had any expectations that i would
encounter such a moving story. b ut by the end, i was putting down the book impressed by c olbert’s example. a nd it’s funny — i can’t cite a particular moment that i found to be particularly moving. r ather, it was the composite of his life, the difficulties and the choices he made in response to those difficulties that i found particularly poignant.
o ne of eleven children, c olbert lost his dad and two brothers in an airline accident when he was ten. a lthough he became withdrawn and bullied, he eventually found his joy in theater and acting (later comedy) and never looked back. Friends described his natural intelligence and curiosity and how he learned to pour all of that into performing.
b ut sometimes, the tragedies of his past were too much. o nce while doing a scene in acting school, c olbert got so angry that he nearly punched a fellow student. This prompted a teacher to say to c olbert that she would not teach him unless he got counseling.
a nd he did.
a s he continued to work to develop as a performer, he realized that he enjoyed making other people laugh. a fter carrying around a heavy weight of sorrow, he sought to take matters into his own hands.
The stage gave him the space not only to confront the realities of sorrow, but to explore the intricacies of joy. a nd bit-by-bit, he discovered that he really liked to choose joy. he started to develop and hone a wonderful skill, the ability to find the humor and the joy in a myriad of situations, no matter how ridiculous.
s oon, this gave way to the birth of a new man, a man who made it his job to find the humor, the laughter and the joy in the midst of situations that
seemed quite devoid of it.
This was why i was inspired. c olbert is a person whose life had appeared, during all the shows i watched, to have always been paved with joy. w hen i learned more, c olbert’s life helped me realize a deeper truth: no one’s life is paved with joy all the time. a nd most of the time, we have to choose it.
l ike c olbert, we all have, or will have, tragedies and struggles. l ike him, we may have moments of anger or sorrow. b ut these moments cannot define us.
Fortunately, we have a g od who always offers us a helping hand.
Jesus calls us out of the quicksand of our past into the hope that he promises us in the present. d o “what is right and just.” o r, as m atthew k elly puts it: “Just do the next right thing.” l ike c olbert, we have to give ourselves the space (and sometimes work really hard) to discover our joy, who g od created us to be.
Too often, we get discouraged and define ourselves according to the labels of our past. b ut i heard once: “Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past can be any different.” we must not disregard our past. r ather, like c olbert, we must allow it to guide our steps into the future.
Fortunately, Jesus has already shown us the way.
Scott Boyle graduated in May of 2012 with a degree in Theology and a minor in Medieval Studies. He currently lives and works as a Campus and Youth Minister in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis as a member of Notre Dame’s Echo Program.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
p ractice taking responsibility for your speech
i have said things i regretted more times than i would like to remember. i have also refrained from saying what i have thought at times because i feared embarrassment or being misunderstood, or i was just unwilling to accept responsibility for my words. being responsible for what i say is burdensome.
The Twitter account nd crushes (@undcrushes) relieves people of this burden: it allows contributors to anonymously fawn over people. a good portion of the expressions is harmless “crushing,” but much of it is explicitly sexual. none of the acts of communication request reciprocation because the anonymity ensures that “no one” is speaking.
nd crushes is thus a vehicle for irresponsible speech: speech for which no one is personally responsible. it fosters a culture in which personal expressions are severed from the persons who express them. w hereas most people in the course of actual conversations will negotiate the burdensome responsibility for speech with caution, courageousness or even indirect personal speech, nd crushes offers an easy out: direct de-personalized speech. by not naming oneself the user can name or describe anyone he or she wants and apparently say anything he or she wants about that person.
so here’s my question: w hy does nd crushes exist? ostensibly, it is to “anonymously confess your university of notre dame crushes that you always wanted to get off your chest.” That defines its function more than its reason for being. some might claim it allows you to say what you really think without risk
of rejection. it might even be a coy means of piquing another person’s romantic curiosity, or it might be regarded as meaningless and playful jabbering that is better to release through social media than in face-toface interactions. i maintain that nd crushes exists as a symptom and incubator of the desire to exercise freedom through speech without the necessary responsibility one assumes in speaking freely. you get to express yourself without hazarding anything of yourself. certainly, nd crushes is not one of a kind. other accounts like this exist on Twitter or in other forms across the social media dreamscape. y ik yak is a network of little local spheres of de-personalized speech that create alternative subcultures only accessible to those who peek through the app. Those who don’t inquire through y ik yak or grab the nd crushes handle remain ignorant of the other planes of thought and interpretation that pertain to the people and social settings with which they engage. a side from the unavoidable messiness of embodied social relations with their multiple layers of meaning, this whole other script is being written by those who utilize a veiled virtual world to “get something off their chest,” anonymously.
The apparent need to remove one’s identity from forthright communication is vexing. even more troubling is the ease with which we describe or even name the objects of our affection when we are so unwilling to identify ourselves with our own self expressions. i was crestfallen to see the name of one of my former students on nd crushes, portrayed according to someone’s perverse desire to sexually conquer her. This
young woman was reduced to being a prop for some lewd act (the tweets about men are no less graphic). a nameless, faceless perpetrator publicly violated her integrity — not physically, but socially and perhaps emotionally — in 140 characters or less. would this nameless person ever say such things to this woman in person? not without the risk of being slapped, which would itself be a goad for human development. more likely, social inhibitions would burden such direct speech precisely because the speaker would be personally responsible for the words. There is, in the end, a productive dimension to the inhibitions associated with the burden of responsibility: they allow space for the operation of conscience and they also present the opportunity for courage. shortcutting that burden with virtual anonymity demeans us all. w hat results is disembodied chatter.
This letter is not about policing thought or speech; rather, i am advocating that we practice taking personal responsibility for our speech. This goes for those who express themselves on nd crushes, those who follow it and whoever owns the account. For my part, i claim the views expressed here as my own at the risk of being misunderstood, disliked or disregarded. a nd to prove it, here’s my name: l eonard del orenzo. on Twitter: @leodelo2.
Leonard DeLorenzo associate professional specialist
Theology and i nstitute for c hurch l ife Jan. 22
The
lEttEr to thE EdItor
By ALLIE TOLLAKSEN
s cene e ditor
if you’re a fan of freak folk or a pitchfork disciple, the opening lines of “inherent v ice” may be a bit bewildering. a s the camera pans over a california beach house in the dark of night, a voiceover begins from the unique and perhaps familiar voice of Joanna newsom — usually known as a harpist and singer — as sortilège, the film’s narrator and, at times, friendly guide in a drugged-up, whirlwind of a story.
you don’t need to know who Joanna newsom is, however, to be bewildered by “inherent v ice.” director p.T. a nderson’s latest film, an adaptation of Thomas p ynchon’s 2009 novel, is a disorienting trip through and through, but it’s certainly one worth taking. in the opening shots, sortilège describes the atmosphere of southern california in the year 1970 in astrological explanations and 70s slang, setting the stage for the story of doc (Joaquin phoenix), a private detective and public hippie who is sent on a wild goose chase through the crimes and conspiracies of california’s drug scene.
one night, doc is visited by his former girlfriend, shasta (katherine waterston), who appears out of the blue to ask for help. shasta tells doc she is caught up in a plan to disappear a married mogul she has been seeing, but is worried about what will happen to him. but shasta’s visit to doc is almost like a mirage — hazy and dreamlike — and she vanishes soon after asking
him for help.
doc, of course, is left with more questions than answers, but that is the theme throughout “inherent v ice.” rather than play out like a classic detective story, with a skillful uncovering of useful clues and leads that push the protagonist towards the big reveal, “inherent v ice” dizzies its audience with characters and subplots until the film’s very end. l ike the constantly high doc, viewers are almost constantly confused by the story, but plot — or even the mystery itself — isn’t what drives the film. instead, “inherent vice” relishes in the time, place and people, making it a bizarre mix of stoner comedy and period piece that gives a super-saturated snapshot of the aftermath of the 1960s.
“inherent v ice” isn’t p.T. a nderson’s best film, but it doesn’t have to be. instead, the movie works like “midnight in paris” or “grand budapest hotel,” where you can delight in the setting and characters (and even the actors playing them) with a certain lightheartedness rarely found in front of p.T. a nderson’s lens. but while a film like “midnight in paris” plays out like a mindless walk in the park, “inherent v ice” takes the opposite approach, piling on so many players and connections in doc’s investigation, the audience must, at some point, resign to enjoying only what is happening immediately in front of them. This, of course, mirrors the shortsightedness of the characters the film caused by their drug-induced fog.
it’s hard to say, then, what the takeaway of “inherent vice” exactly is. its ending is underwhelming; its message
is unclear, but one aspect of the film that resonates after its neon credits roll is the relationship between doc and his frenemy (there is no other word), detective “bigfoot” bjornsen (Josh brolin).
The interaction between the two men, one a p i. hippie and the other a clean-cut police officer, is easily the most entertaining and fascinating part of the film, and a nderson’s way of conveying their complicated friendship grounds the film in some small way.
a s dizzying and outrageous as the rest of the film is, “inherent v ice” is still a pleasure to watch. Though its viewers may grow frustrated with its lack of direction or message, letting go and embracing its chaos pays off, and sortilège says, “with doc, it may all start to get a little peculiar after that.”
Contact Allie Tollaksen at atollaks@nd.edu
“Inherent Vice”
Director: P.T. Anderson
Production Company: Ghoulardi Film Company, IAC Films, Warners Bros.
one of the most breathtakingly powerful voices in music, björk has been releasing solo albums for more than 20 years now. The singer/songwriter/producer has, with each album, approached her sound and compositions in new ways. Throughout the years, she has managed to stay in touch with trends in both underground and popular music, often employing producers on the cutting edge of the industry. so when news broke that The haxan cloak and a rca, two such producers, would be working with björk on her new record “vulnicura,” it appeared that bjork was right on track to release another boundary-pushing record.
“vulnicura,” however, is no such album. a massive throwback to the gorgeous romantic ballads of “homogenic” and “vespertine,” björk’s latest record is not so much one of experimentation as much as one of expression. at the core of the songs’ narratives is björk’s painful separation from longtime partner matthew barney.
The emotional material allows björk a sort of return to form; while she seemed joyous and wonderstruck over the alien grooves of her previous two records, on “vulnicura” she sings as a queen on a well-established musical throne.
The first track on the record, titled “stonemilker,” opens with flowing string arrangements and a unabashedly gorgeous verse melody. one of björk’s signature airy drumlines slides glacier-like in the background while the vocal melodies trade off with violins. Finally, the chorus
arrives in full splendor – a simultaneously magnificent and gentle climax of emotion and pure musical beauty. There is nothing experimental about “stonemilker” in björk’s terms. like so many of her greatest songs, “stonemilker” employs björk’s unusual vocal rhythms and song structures alongside accessible major chords and patient rhythms in order to craft a highly original yet highly enjoyable composition. Throughout the record, björk springs from emotion to emotion, jumping from anger to sadness to contempt to pride as she explores her response to changed relationship. on “black lake,” björk mourns the loss of the “protection” and “shield” her partner granted her before scathingly accusing that his “heart is hollow.” Finally, she employs a striking image of simultaneous return and destruction: “i am a glowing shining rocket returning home/as i enter the atmosphere i burn off layer by layer.” “Family” is even more decimating, opening with the line, “is there a place/where i can pay respects/For the death of my family?” yet amidst the pain is very familiar power in björk’s music. aside from the swelling strings and stuttering percussion that flood many of the record’s tracks, there are lyrical recognitions of growth and possibilities in the new era of her life.
with a return to the melodic, orchestral compositions that form her greatest records, björk’s music seems to reach heights that she has been avoiding for a while in favor of experimentation and artistic daring. her latest two records received far less acclaim than the rest of her catalog, and in “mouth mantra,” she expresses a desire for the welcome change “vulnicura” brings to her approach: “There is vocal sadness/i was separated/
From what i can do/w hat i’m capable of.”
it’s clear that “vulnicura” houses a wide range of emotions, some of which are rather rough and hard to swallow. however, by embracing the melodic and orchestral nature of her older output, björk is able to frame them in an accessible and engaging way.
even as the pain echoes from her lyrics, the masterful melding of word and song allows the record to stand as another musical beauty alongside her best material. on “history of Touches,” she sings “i wake you up in the night/Feeling this is our last time together/Therefore sensing all the moments we’ve been together.”
“vulnicura” acts as such a sensation, a flash of past passions before the final moments. on her latest record, björk captures this to perfection. such an achievement, though indeed a powerful ending, will hopefully serve as a new beginning for an artist that still retains so much potential.
Contact John Darr at jdarr@nd.edu
“Vulnicura” Björk
Label: One Little Indian
Tracks: “Stonemilker,” “Lionsong,” “Quicksand”
If you like: Kate Bush, Aphex Twin, Flying Lotus
By JIMMY KEMPER s cene writer
even in the world of underground rap, there are very few artists like viper. viper first received mainstream attention several years ago, when his song (and album of the same name) “you’ll cowards don’t even smoke crack” became an internet meme due to its shockingly upfront title and unique album cover. since then, viper has been hard at work to break into the mainstream, releasing albums with titles ranging from “Tha greatest Thang made by god” to “google rapper viper.”
a fter a series of direct messages on Twitter, i recently had the opportunity to talk to viper and get some insight into his life, his music making process and his future plans.
most musicians are lucky if they can complete a single album in one year, but last year viper released more than 300. even more amazing is the fact that viper does this completely by himself, in his free time when he’s not running his real estate brokerage, his independent label r hymeTyme records, his free moving service or worldrapstar.com.
as viper himself pointed out, though, these businesses “get the money coming in, and frees up my time to dedicate to the music.”
viper told me he could make an entirely new song from scratch in under an hour. w hen viper wakes up, he starts off making three or four different beats and the respective hooks using the Fruityloops software.
Then, he records the melodies using his phone in 30 minutes before he complies the tracks.
“as far as recording them,” viper says, “i have a lot of material that i dip into. w hen i was in the penitentiary, i wrote about 500 songs.” a fter that, it takes viper only about 10 minutes to mix and master the track.
“before you know it, you’ve got a hi-fi product that’s ready to go out the oven. so we’re looking at about a fourhour turnaround for four songs and i’m done for the rest of the day with music.”
in addition to recording new songs, viper chops and screws a number of his songs to be able to maintain this ridiculously fast production speed. chopping and screwing is a process where hip hop songs are remixed by slowing down the tempo and applying techniques such as record scratching and skipping beats to create a “chopped-up” version of the original. This was introduced by dJ screw and is a huge part of the music scene in houston, viper’s hometown.
out of all 300-plus albums he released last year, viper says the album that particularly stood out was “F*** Tha world it a in’t real i bend Tha spoon with my mind.”
w hile other albums by viper tackle important mainstream issues such as police brutality and gang violence, “F*** Tha world it a in’t real i bend Tha spoon with my mind” engages with cryogenic freezing and the possibilities of the future.
viper is a member of a lcor, a company that seeks to extend the lives of its individual members through preservation in biostasis.
according to viper, “the purpose of the album is that … supposedly after so many years, maybe 1,000 or 2,000 years, that foundation is keeping our bodies frozen and then at some point, when the technology is good enough, they’ll bring us all back. so i’m thinking that by the time they do bring us all back, humans will be so advanced they’ll be able to do some form of telepathy, so that’s why i’ll be able to bend the spoon with my mind. so hopefully there will be a way train the people to do that.”
This year, viper plans to take a step back from releasing an album almost every day of the year and focus on just two projects.
The first, “The Jamminest a lbum you eva heard,” is the album viper hopes will get him out there.
“i’mdoing15tracksallproducedbyvipermadeThebeat, meaning i made all the beats from scratch, and i’m doing a video for each song. i’m putting the album through a mixtape distributor that’s gonna put it on pretty much every platform for mixtapes you can think of. … it’s gonna be a free download, and it’s gonna be my most prized project yet.”
viper hopes “The Jamminest a lbum you eva heard” will be out by the end of march.
The other album, and as yet unnamed collaboration with cali cashflow, will be a double album released later in the year. viper plans to get it posted by a major dJ, and he hopes it will be his first album with a record deal. of course, i couldn’t end a conversation with viper without talking about “you’ll cowards don’t even smoke crack.”
w hen asked about the motivation behind the album and the song, viper told me that he’s “given so many different explanations because they’re all valid” and assured me that a full conversation on ycdesc would take about a week. To viper, this song is about not being afraid of anything and explained one of his first experiences with cowardice and crack.
“w hen i got in the scene, i was selling crack to supplement my income. a nd i was in a gang. we had to make sure [the crack] was a good batch. because if it wasn’t a good batch a bunch of bad things could happen to you.” viper told me that you could substitute smoking crack with anything, but the point remains that you will have to face your fear and make sure your body and mind is ready to go.
Contact Jimmy Kemper at jkemper2@nd.edu
W EEKEND a T a GL a NCE
THURSDAY
What: dance Performance: ronald K. Brown/Evidence
When: 7:00 p.m.
Where: dPaC how Much: $26, $15 for students
Friday’s performance is already sold out so don’t miss your chance to see ronald k brown’s most recent dance creation. brown is known for his “stories in movement” told to songs by stevie wonder. This weekend’s performances will feature community dancers selected during an earlier audition period.
What: joel Crouse
When: 10 p.m.
Where: legends how Much: Free
country singer Joel crouse comes to l egends after having opened for darius rucker and Taylor swift. h is hits include “if you want some” and “w hy g od made l ove songs.” check him out as he headlines his own show at l egends.
What: “dear White People” (2014)
When: 6:30 and 9:30 p.m.
Where: dPaC how Much: $7, $4 for students
This social satire follows the lives of four black students at a primarily-white ivy l eague college. The movie explores how they navigate campus life and racial politics. The film won the 2014 sundance Film Festival’s special Jury award for breakthrough Talent.
Weekly Watch is a series in which a Scene writer picks a movie or show available on instant streaming service, then writes a review.
This week’s weekly watch is the dark psychological horror film, “The babadook.” with a menacingly eerie monster and powerful takeaway, “The babadook” promises to be both scary and entertaining. check out this week’s weekly watch on a mazon video or google play. read monday’s paper for adam ramos’ review of the movie.
Let the air out of deflate-gate
Zach Klonsinski sports writer
o ne storyline did finally emerge, it turns out, from new e ngland’s 45-7 drubbing of i ndianapolis on sunday in the a Fc championship game. The resulting “scandal” has even already spawned its own all-too-clichéd nickname: d eflate-gate.
a ccording to n F l sources, 11 of the 12 game balls used by new e ngland were underinflated by almost two pounds per square inch (psi). For a ball that is mandated by the n F l to be between only 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch, a couple of pounds of pressure is a significant difference that could only have been caused by deliberate action on the part of new e ngland. o r so some claim.
o f course, this is an easy conclusion to reach. i n 2007, the p atriots and their coach, bill b elichick, were punished by the league for having taped opposing teams’ signals after the n F l outlawed the practice, a scandal referred to as “spygate.”
s o we have a confirmed report of possible misdoings by an already convicted cheater. s eems pretty black and white, right?
i n the words of l ee c orso, “not so fast, my friends.”
There are a few points i feel deserve consideration before we go on a b elichick witch hunt. o ne may exonerate the patriots if correct while the others may implicate others who share the blame.
The first is this: when the n F l tests these game balls, they do so inside, where the temperature is above 70 degrees. o utside during the game, the temperature was in the 40s by the time any of the “deflated” balls were noticed. That difference of almost 30 degrees is significant enough to noticeably drop the pressure in something like a football. s o if, inside, the patriots’ balls measured at the minimum acceptable threshold before the game, by the time of re-measurement, they certainly dropped below the threshold. would it have been enough to cause an almost two psi difference that reports cite?
This is where having a physics major for a roommate finally comes in handy. using simplified calculations, he approximated that a drop of more than one psi could be expected. c ombined with rob gronkowski’s observation that the p atriots were spiking the ball after scoring so many
touchdowns (or actual potential factors such as humidity), perhaps this is enough account for the drop in pressure. i f this is the case, the p atriots did nothing wrong other than cleverly play the elements.
o f course, this would also assume that the balls were measured for the second time outside which, if is the case, is an egregious error on the n F l’s part. i f they were let to warm up again and measured inside at two psi lower, then that whole argument is obviously null and void.
Therefore, let’s assume the patriots did in fact deflate their footballs. There are still a couple other things to consider. The b altimore r avens have helped shed light on the first of these, since they claimed today the p atriots were using deflated balls against them last weekend. perhaps the p atriots have gotten away with this sort of thing before, who knows how many times. i f this is true, then the n F l failed in enforcement.
That would not of course mean b elichick and the patriots did not cheat. They still broke the rules, if that is in fact what the n F l finds. The team and coach’s previous history have proven they do not shy away from trying to gain an advantage. yet here is where the n F l failed again.
a fter “spy-gate,” a much worse offense in my opinion, b elichick was fined $500,000, and the patriots lost their firstround pick in the next draft. s eems pretty harsh, right?
l et’s imagine the league finds this offense did occur, and the n F l hands out the same punishments this time around. new e ngland is in the super b owl already, so their first-round pick is going to basically be a second-rounder anyway, which is not losing much for a team that drafts and develops elite quarterbacks from the sixth round.
b elichick’s bonus in his contract for winning a super b owl would certainly help offset a potential fine levied against him.
Therefore, if d eflate-gate is real, the league needs to crack down hard on the patriots and b elichick. o therwise, a dangerous precedent will be set.
b ecause let’s face it: what team wouldn’t risk its firstround pick for a super b owl ring?
Contact Zach Klonsinski at zklonsin@nd.edu
The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
unc tops wake Forest for fourth-straight win
Associated Press
wins T on- salem , north c arolina — k ennedy meeks scored 12 of his 16 points after halftime to help no. 15 north c arolina pull away and beat wake Forest 87-71 on wednesday night.
brice Johnson had 19 points as the other half of a twoheaded inside attack that helped the Tar heels (15-4, 5-1 a tlantic c oast c onference) score 50 points in the paint on the way to their fourth straight league win.
Freshman Justin Jackson added 17 points as the Tar heels shot 69 percent (18 for 26) after halftime and 60 percent for the game.
The Tar heels led 40-34 at halftime, but meeks scored three straight baskets out of
the break to push the lead to double digits and put unc in firm control.
c odi m iller-mc i ntyre scored 20 points to lead the d emon d eacons (9-10, 1-5), who played tough in losses to highly ranked d uke and l ouisville here earlier this month.
b ut after weeks of clear progress under first-year coach d anny m anning, they took a big step back against the Tar heels.
wake Forest shot 40 percent for the game and couldn’t keep up with the Tar heels after halftime, trailing by as many as 18 midway through the second half.
The Tar heels were coming off sunday’s sluggish home win against v irginia Tech in a performance that irked coach
roy w illiams so much that he made his team practice the next night instead of having monday off.
h is team at least responded with a sharper performance despite losing freshman guard Theo p inson to a foot injury and getting into some foul trouble early in the second half.
b oth Johnson and meeks went 8 for 11 from the floor, while meeks finished with eight boards despite playing limited first-half minutes after picking up three fouls.
Jackson chipped in his second straight double-figure scoring game, as the Tar heels scored on 12 of 16 possessions to start the second half. They took a 65-48 lead on Jackson’s basket near the 12-minute mark.
Anthony helps last-place Knicks to another victory
Associated Press
philadelphia —
c armelo a nthony had 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead the n ew york k nicks past the p hiladelphia 76ers 98-91 on wednesday night.
The worst team in the e astern c onference is suddenly on a hot streak. n ew york snapped its 16-game losing streak m onday with a win against n ew o rleans and made it two straight with the victory against the lowly s ixers.
The s ixers’ eight wins are only one more than n ew york’s total, and each team is battling to better its odds to win the n o. 1 pick in the draft lottery.
k nicks p resident p hil Jackson tried to tell k nicks fans better times were ahead by building around a nthony.
The teams instead played in game that was billed as “Tank b owl.”
The s ixers started the season on a 17-game losing streak and have been open
about a rebuilding process that included holding a bounty of draft picks.
s ixers rookie center n erlens n oel was sent home with an illness and their 2014 n o. 3 overall pick Joel e mbiid has not played this season.
n ew york (92.7) and p hiladelphia (90.0) entered at the bottom of the league in scoring averages and labored to even crack 80 in this one until a surge in the final minutes.
The k nicks let a 14-point lead be sliced to three on m ichael c arter-w illiams’ fast-break layup with 7 minutes left. mcw — as he’s known around the league — had 25 points by that time but it came on 9 of 23 shooting. h e finished with 27. Jerami g rant had eight blocks.
c arter-w illiams had one less option on offense with n oel out with the upper respiratory infection. n oel griped after m onday’s blowout loss at washington that
the offense had become stagnant and the s ixers have “to be able to reward our big guys.”
c oach b rett b rown said passing always remained a point of emphasis, though the responsibility, “will always be dropped on the point guard’s doorstep.” h e also downplayed any hint of a rift between two of p hiladelphia’s projected cornerstones.
“ i t’s two friends trying to figure it out. i t’s healthy,” b rown said. “These guys, they amazingly get along and coexist on buses and locker rooms and all that. Just sometimes, they don’t pass to each other. They’re so tunnel visioned, it’s not that they’re selfish.”
b oth the k nicks and 76ers insist they are not tanking, fielding a noncompetitive roster in hopes of bettering the odds for high draft picks and potential franchise players. The likely prize this year is d uke center Jahlil o kafor.
“I’ll
LeBron, Cavaliers cruise past Jazz
Associated Press
cleveland — l e b ron
James scored 26 points, k evin l ove added 19 and the rejuvenated c leveland c avaliers won their fourth straight, 106-92 over the u tah Jazz on wednesday night.
s haking off a flu bug that forced him to miss practice Tuesday and also slowed kyrie i rving, James added nine assists and seven rebounds. The c avs are 4-1 since the four-time mvp returned after missing eight games with a strained back and knee.
i rving added 18 points and Timofey m ozgov 16 for c leveland, beginning to find its stride following a stretch of injuries and two major trades. J. r s mith scored 15 as all five c avs starters scored at least that many for the second straight game.
u ntil that happened on m onday, the c avs hadn’t done that since m arch 16, 1993.
e nes k anter scored 24 with 17 rebounds and g ordon h ayward scored 14 for u tah, which has dropped five of six and four straight road games.
The c avs avenged a 102100 loss to the Jazz on n ov. 5, when h ayward dropped a buzzer-beating jumper after escaping James. There would be no such heroics this time for h ayward, who received an icy stare from James in the third quarter. James got ahead of h ayward on a breakaway and delivered a vicious dunk the u tah forward could do nothing to stop.
l ater in the period, the c avs had one of their most memorable sequences this season. h ustling back on defense, s mith used both hands to blindly back tap a loose ball to Tristan Thompson, who handed it off to i rving on the fly. c leveland’s point guard then fed l ove with an alley-oop pass for a dunk that rocked Quicken l oans a rena and gave the c avs a 7448 lead.
korver dunks as hawks
win 14th in a row
Associated Press
a T lan T a — d e m arre
c arroll and Jeff Teague scored 17 points apiece to lead a balanced offense, kyle k orver dunked for the first time in more than two years, and the a tlanta h awks tied the franchise record with their 14th straight victory, routing the i ndiana p acers 110-91 on wednesday night.
w ith the victory, which improved the h awks’ conference-leading record to a stunning 35-8, m ike b udenholzer clinched a spot as the e astern coach in next month’s a ll- s tar g ame in n ew york c ity.
b udenholzer should be taking several players with him. The h awks romped to their 28th victory in the last 30 games, showing the kind of teamwork that has become their trademark in a season that no one saw coming.
Ten players had scored by halftime, with the pesky
paid a dverT isemen T
c arroll leading the way. a ll five starters scored in double figures, and p ero a ntic chipped in off the bench with 12 points.
b ut this one will be remembered for k orver’s dunk in the first half. n ormally a 3-point specialist, the 33-year-old got out ahead of a fast break, took a pass from a l h orford and slammed it home — well, barely cleared the rim — with his right hand.
it was k orver’s first dunk since n ov. 16, 2012, at s acramento, a span of 198 games without a slam. a ccording to s T a T s , it was the 16th dunk of his 12-year nba career.
c .J. m iles led the p acers with 18 points. i ndiana shot just 39.7 percent and lost its sixth in a row. The h awks seized control late in the second quarter by simply outworking the p acers. a fter d avid west let a pass slip through his hands and roll back across
the midcourt line, he paused briefly in frustration while Teague raced by him to scoop up the loose ball for an uncontested layup. i ndiana missed on its next possession, and a ntic knocked down a 3-pointer. Just like that, the home team had stretched its lead to 47-32.
up 52-41 at halftime, the h awks quickly put things away at the start of the third quarter, burying the p acers from the 3-point stripe. p aul m illsap, Teague and c arroll all swished from long range in a 13-4 spurt that stretched the lead to 65-45.
c arroll wasn’t done. a fter the p acers deflected one of his passes, he hustled for the loose ball, drove for the basket and put up a shot that rimmed out. a ntic rebounded, whipped it back outside, and the h awks passed all the way around the arc, setting up c arroll for an open 3-pointer from the corner. n othing but net.
Notre Dame to face top-25 foes
Observer Sports Staff
n otre d ame’s spring season will shift into high gear as the n o. 14 i rish host the 2015 i T a k ick- o ff w eekend on s aturday and s unday at e ck Tennis p avilion.
s ixty men’s teams will compete across the country to qualify for the i T a n ational Team i ndoor c hampionships in February, and those teams are separated into groups of four playing at 15 campus host sites. i n the four-team tournament this weekend, the host site traditionally faces the n o. 4-seeded school, and the n o. 2 seed plays the n o. 3 seed. The winner at each site advances to the national tournament, while first-day losers face off in a consolation round.
l ast year, n otre d ame traveled to k entucky to face the w ildcats, byu and m innesota. a fter defeating m innesota on the first day of competition, the i rish upset
in time for a more high-stakes meet this weekend, which will be the first scored event in which the i rish have competed so far. Turner said both his own approach and the runners’ approaches are slightly different with the scoring in place.
“i want to make sure we have each event area covered and have a good showing in each event,” he said. “it also holds each person accountable. … [ w hen] i put you in an event to compete, i expect you to contribute and score well. w hereas before there were no team implications, here i ’m looking for everyone to do their part.”
however, Turner said he still keeps the long-term health of the runners as his priority.
“a ny competition we enter that’s a scored meet, i want to win, but … not at the expense of hurting our team or pushing our team to a limit that will affect us in a month,” he said. “[That being said,] now is where the season really picks up, and there’s no more, ‘ well okay, it’s my first meet, i ’ve never done this.’ it’s time to really get the legs turning over.”
The i rish will host the notre d ame i nvitational beginning at 10 a.m. s aturday in l oftus s ports c enter.
Contact Andrew Robinson at arobins6@nd.edu
k entucky, 4-3, in the final match of the weekend.
The i rish are coming off a solid weekend at the m organ r un h idden d uals on Jan. 9-11 and more recently, bested n o. 18 k entucky in a 4-3 win last s aturday.
n otre d ame will host a competitive men’s pod, with all four teams ranked in the top 25 — n o. 16 c olumbia, n o. 17 Tennessee and n o. 24 o klahoma s tate. The i rish will take on o klahoma s tate in s aturday’s opening round, and Tennessee will play c olumbia that day.
c ompetition between the l ions and volunteers kicks off at 10 a.m. s aturday, and the i rish and c owboys will square off at 2 p.m. The winners of each match will face each other at 1 p.m. s unday, with the consolation match at 10 a.m. that day. a ll matches will take place at e ck Tennis p avilion, with a trip to the i T a n ational Team i ndoor c hampionships in February on the line.
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WEI LIN | The Observer
Irish junior Danielle Aragon, left, and freshman Jessica Harris run in the 1,000-meter run during the Blue and Gold Invitational on Dec. 14.
M Basketball
con T inued F rom page 16
feel for playing with our guys offensively. he has instincts and he fights. … he is a key guy for us moving forward.”
beachem, for his part, has held notre dame in games at times over the last couple weeks. it began with a 12-point first-half performance Jan. 10 against no. 2 v irginia that prevented the game from being a blow-out early. beachem also provided boosts with a ninepoint performance at north c arolina on Jan. 5, 10 points in the Jan. 14 win at g eorgia Tech and 13 points against m iami on s aturday. he leads the team in 3-point shooting, averaging 51.8 percent from beyond the arc.
“i just know that my teammates trust me, c oach brey trusts me, so i feel like i have more control over my game,” beachem said of his increased confidence after the m iami game. “i f i have an inch to take a jump shot, i know i can take it and knock it down.”
notre dame has also gone to a smaller lineup at times over the last few games, sometimes using five guards on the floor at once.
“your first reaction is, we won’t be able to guard or rebound, but heck, we can’t rebound anyways,” brey said. “ w hy don’t we just play small and have some more firepower on the floor? … The smaller lineup really spreads the floor, and we were getting cleaner
looks because we were getting drives from [senior guard] Jerian [ grant] and [Jackson] and kicking out to guys for really clean looks.”
The adjustment has worked so far for the i rish, as the team ranks second nationally in field-goal percentage (52.8 percent). notre dame also shoots more than 40 percent from beyond the 3-point arc and is tied for 20th in the country averaging 8.8 3-pointers made per game.
brey said opponents have had to adjust to his team’s style of play with the small lineup.
“i think they started the game differently,” brey said after m iami. “They started … a smaller guy. everyone has down shifted to us. They really did in the last 10 minutes. They went back to the big fellow for a little bit, he made a layup, and then he missed one, and they said, ‘The heck with it,’ and got him out. Then it was 10 guards on the floor, driving and kicking and shooting.”
on the other hand, v irginia Tech shoots 46.3 percent from the field and averages 68 points per game to notre dame’s 82. “ we know that we have a lot of work left to do,” beachem said following m iami. “but we are off to a great start in the acc and just want to keep it going.”
The i rish will look to do just that tonight at 7 p.m. at c assell c oliseum in blacksburg, v irginia.
Contact Zach Klonsinski at zklonsin@nd.edu
MICHAEL YU | The Observer Irish sophomore forward V.J. Beachem shoots a 3-pointer during Notre Dame’s 75-70 win over Miami on Saturday at Purcell Pavilion.
20.5 points per game, the third best average in the acc behind irish junior guard Jewell loyd at 20.8 points per game and wake Forest senior forward dearica hamby’s 20.7. davis, along with loyd and hamby, was named to the preseason top-30 watch list for the wooden award, annually given to the country’s top player.
Freshman forward Zaire o’neil also has stepped up to record 10.9 points per game, fourth best for georgia Tech, and freshman guard a ntonia peresson has started 16 games.
senior guard sydney wallace (13.1) and junior guard/forward aaliyah w hiteside (12.7) round out the yellow Jackets’ doublefigure scorers.
The irish had little time to rest after monday’s win over Tennessee, but mcgraw said she was excited for the opportunities offered by the tight scheduling.
“it’s great to be able to win and still have a lot of things to work on, so it’s a fun position for a coach to be in, so we can still show them some film and show them some things they need to work on, and i think they’re hungry to keep getting better,” mcgraw said.
against the volunteers in the first half, the irish struggled on the boards and were
out-rebounded but turned things around in the second half. against georgia Tech, they’ll have to deal with junior forward roddreka rogers, who has averaged 9.7 rebounds per game, including an 18-rebound performance Jan. 4 against clemson in the yellow Jackets’ first acc win this season and two straight double-figure performances.
loyd has spurred the charge for notre dame, scoring at her acc-leading clip. but the irish have not been one-dimensional.
Freshman forward brianna Turner, sophomore guard lindsay a llen, sophomore forward Taya reimer and junior guard michaela mabrey also have led as starters, and notre dame’s bench has been active. a fter the Tennessee game in particular, mcgraw noted the efforts of senior guard madison cable, saying cable’s competitiveness and “feisty” style were key to the win, along with reimer’s play inside.
“That’s the great thing about this team. it’s not a one-man team or a two-man team,” mcgraw said. “we’ve got a lot of good players.”
notre dame tips off at 7 p.m. Thursday against georgia Tech at purcell pavilion, kicking off a string of 11 straight acc matchups for the irish.
Contact Samantha Zuba at szuba@nd.edu
JODI LO | The Observer
Irish sophomore guard Lindsay Allen brings the ball up the court during Notre Dame’s 88-77 win over Tennessee on Monday at Purcell Pavilion. The Irish have won three straight since a loss Jan. 8 at Miami.
Happy Birthday: you’ll be electric, in tune with the universe, and ready to take on the world. emotions will be high and big plans can be put into play. your hard work will start to pay off, and now is a good time to initiate the positive changes that will improve your life personally and professionally. don’t let negativity slow you down. your numbers are 5, 8, 17, 23, 33, 44, 45.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): step outside your boundaries, and you will discover you have more going for you than you thought. a challenge coupled with a little competition will spark the incentive to improve and excel. love is on the rise.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): listen carefully and ask questions if something confuses you or seems far-fetched. emotions will run high and should be channeled wisely if you want to avoid a misunderstanding. moderation will be in your best interest in all aspects of life.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): keep your mind on your goal and avoid being tempted to let someone take care of something that requires your undivided attention. love is highlighted, and romantic plans will ensure that your personal life heads in the right direction.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): look over your personal papers, investments and how safe your current position or standing in your community is with regard to longterm benefits. communication can help clear up any misconceptions you have. let your intuition guide you when it comes to partnerships.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): check out your options and take care of responsibilities early in the day to allow time to address the things you want to do as the evening rolls around. romance is apparent, and socializing or making plans for two will pay off.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): no matter what task you are given, take ownership and do the best job possible and you will advance. it’s up to you to make things happen if you want to impress someone who can help you advance. show your value.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) plan a gathering or social outing. get together with people who have something to contribute, and brainstorm to come up with a plan to advance. romance will greatly improve your day if you put aside some time to spend with your loved one.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): don’t make a move or share too much personal information. work on a creative project that allows you the freedom to indulge in the things you enjoy doing most. Take care of responsibilities, but avoid demanding people.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Talks will lead to greater knowledge and insight into what everyone around you wants, thinks or is planning to do. The changes you bring about personally will help you advance and improve your standard of living. love conquers all.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): run your ideas by someone who can offer assistance or help you identify any flaws in your plan. Taking a different path to reach your goal will help you outsmart the competition. Take charge, but don’t let impulse cost you.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Find someone who is willing to listen. an experiment will help you reach your ultimate goal. opportunity is within reach, making it vital that you do not procrastinate or leave anything to chance. love is in the stars.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): a fresh look at an old idea will help you see problem areas. present what you have to offer to a diverse group of people who can and will appreciate what you are proposing.
Birthday Baby: you are ahead of your time. you are smart, entertaining and popular.
juMBlE | david hoyT and JeFF knurek
sudoKu | The mepham group
hIGhly PunlIKEly | chrisTopher brucker
doME nuts | alexandria wellman
nd WoMEn’s BasKEtBall
Notre Dame returns to ACC action
By SAMANTHA ZUBA
a ssistant managing e ditor
on the heels of a win over no. 5 Tennessee, the no. 6 i rish resume their conference slate Thursday with a matchup against g eorgia Tech at 7 p.m. at p urcell pavilion.
notre dame (17-2, 4-1 acc ) took down Tennessee (15-3, 5-0 sec ), 88-77, monday at p urcell pavilion in front of a national audience. The win was the first for the i rish this season against a top-five opponent and a victory notre dame needed moving forward, i rish coach muffet mcgraw said.
“i think it’s a great win for us,” mcgraw said after monday’s game. “we’ve have some good wins this year already with Florida state and at north carolina, so it looks like we’re really starting to gel. we hoped that we would be playing well heading into the conference race and certainly by February, so maybe we’re a little ahead of schedule right now.”
Monday
The next step in that conference race is a g eorgia Tech squad that has dropped two in a row. The yellow Jackets (12-7, 2-3 acc ) lost, 96-81, to no. 12 north carolina on Jan. 11 and fell in overtime to p ittsburgh on sunday, 75-72. g eorgia Tech lost another heartbreaker, 79-73 in overtime against then-no. 16 m ichigan state on dec. 4. The team’s last win came Jan. 8, a
MEn’s BasKEtBall
narrow 80-77 victory over acc foe boston college.
The yellow Jackets field a young roster with six freshmen, two sophomores, three juniors and just one senior.
Two of those underclassmen,
however, have stepped up to be among the team’s leading scorers. sophomore guard k aela davis has tallied a team-best
Irish aim to continue historic start
By ZACH KLONSINSKI sports writer
no. 8 notre dame looks to build on its best start since 1978-1979 tonight when it takes on v irginia Tech in an acc clash at 7 p.m. in blacksburg, v irginia.
a win would give the i rish (17-2, 5-1 acc ) their best 20game start in more than 40 years, dating back to the 19731974 squad that opened with a 19-1 record. a win would also give notre dame its first ever 3-0 start in conference road games.
it has been a huge turnaround from last year for the i rish, who were floundering in their first season of acc play through 20 games. The team was 11-9 overall but only 2-5 in conference play. however, one of those two wins came against the hokies (8-9, 0-4), a 70-63 victory at p urcell pavilion on Jan. 19, 2014. The other was a 79-77 upset of no. 7 d uke at home Jan. 4, 2014.
“we’ve made big steps from last year, but we have a lot more improvements to
make, and we can get so much better,” sophomore guard demetrius Jackson said after notre dame’s 75-70 win over m iami on saturday. “we’re going to keep working hard on the fundamentals and prepare for v irginia Tech.”
The emergence of Jackson at the point for notre dame has been one of the keys to its success this year. The sophomore averages 13.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while his 39 steals on the defensive end are best in the acc
notre dame has also recently discovered two new weapons off its bench in freshman forward bonzie colson and sophomore forward v.J. beachem. w ith junior forward Zach auguste sitting out Jan. 14 at g eorgia Tech, the undersized colson stepped in to give the i rish 10 points and four rebounds in 22 minutes of play while also energizing the team by playing with a bloody nose.
“i love [ colson],” i rish coach m ike brey said after the m iami win. “he’s still trying to get a
By ANDREW ROBINSON sports writer
a s the i rish carry on with their season following a solid performance at the simmonsharvey i nvitational last weekend, they are primed to return to the track saturday for the notre dame i nvitational at the l oftus sports center, where they will host a challenging field.
a s the season continues to progress — the upcoming meet is the third of nine regularseason meets — the level of competition continues to grow stronger for the notre dame squad.
i rish coach a lan Turner said m ichigan state, no. 22 nationally for men and no. 19 for women, and p urdue, the no. 14 men’s team, as well as eastern m ichigan, would be especially competitive this weekend, contending in almost every event. he also said i ndiana state, the defending champion in the m issouri valley conference on both the men’s and women’s sides, is perhaps the most well-rounded team in the invitational.
“For this meet coming up, we’re going to be tested again,” Turner said. “each meet is basically a test to get us ready for the acc championships and the ncaa championships. There’s a lot of good competition [this weekend], especially for a smaller tournament.”
youth was a theme for the i rish last weekend, as freshmen Jessica harris and parker e nglish were two of the bright spots on the women’s side in what Turner said he considers a somewhat underwhelming performance by the team as a whole. harris won the 600-meter run in a school-record time of 1:31.98, and e nglish took the 400-meter event with a time of 56.47 and was part of the winning women’s 4×400-meter relay as well.
w hile the younger runners are getting an early start in their careers, Turner said he is also excited to see returning runners compete, such as sophomore middle-distance runner Jake dumford and junior distance runner m ichael c levenger, who rested for the first two meets to recover from the cross-country season. Their return will come just
JODI LO | The Observer
Irish freshman forward Kathryn Westbeld drives to the hoop during Notre Dame’s 88-77 win over Tennessee on
at Purcell Pavilion. It was Notre Dame’s fifth-straight win over the Volunteers.
MICHAEL YU | The Observer
Irish sophomore guard Demetrius Jackson dribbles during Notre Dame’s 75-70 win against Miami on Saturday at Purcell Pavilion.
